The idle musings of a former military man, former computer geek, medically retired pastor and now full-time writer. Contents guaranteed to offend the politically correct and anal-retentive from time to time. My approach to life is that it should be taken with a large helping of laughter, and sufficient firepower to keep it tamed!

Monday, August 17, 2009

Muggers aren't the only reason to be armed

A former college professor and his wife were apparently attacked and killed by nearly a dozen dogs along a rural road where their bodies were found mutilated, authorities said Monday.

Preliminary autopsy results from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation showed Sherry Schweder, 65, likely died of injuries suffered in a dog attack, Oglethorpe County Sheriff Mike Smith said. Autopsy results for her husband, Lothar Karl Schweder, 77, were not yet available, but Smith said it's likely he was also attacked by dogs because the scene was so grisly.

Smith said officials were going to round up at least 11 dogs seen in the area in northeastern Georgia, where the couple's mutilated bodies were found Saturday morning by five passersby.

It just goes to show . . . one has to be prepared for anything, at any time, even when walking quietly on a peaceful country road near one's home. If the Professor and/or his wife had been armed, and been able to shoot the first few attacking animals, there's an excellent chance the others would have run away. Both persons might still be alive today.

We don't carry guns because we're paranoid - we carry them because the dangers are real. Those dangers aren't limited to felons or muggers. That's worth remembering. It's also worth noting that a very light caliber weapon won't do enough damage to stop an attacking dog - or an attacking person. We need to carry something that will be effective against the dangers we're likely to face.

3 comments:

Anonymous
said...

I used to go hiking in a very remote National Grassland area that has lovely canyons and petroglyphs. On weekdays, which was when I was off work, the place was devoid of humans BUT feral dogs and the occasional cougar could make hiking a sporting proposition. I saw the dogs, never saw the cougars. I also carried a little something to dissuade four-footed and two-footed predators.LittleRed1

That's a very good point. A little knowledge of the pack dynamics of wolves or feral dogs can really help. Dogs, as pack animals have a strong need to know their place in the pack hierarchy. Shoot the alpha, or "first bite" dog, and the beta, or "second bite" dog, and the lower-ranking dogs will probably seek other targets as it sorts itself out after the organizational shake-up.

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